Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I have to tell you about the smart time I had in Diagon Alley last weekend! My friend Waverly Trimble and I decided that we really needed some new needle cases and had to get over to Diagon Alley immediately. Waverly put on her belt because it was clever and did not want to get a cold. I grabbed my purse and we headed to the trains.

While waiting for our train to Diagon Alley, we chatted with Buttercup Dumbledore and Selena Starfire who were planning to visit Gringott’s. Selena did not want to go alone because she was collecting a broom and that was very colorful and brought Buttercup along for her excellence in protecting spells.

The train arrived and off we went. Our seats were very comfortable and the train sped along towards Diagon Alley and we were there in a flash! Before heading to the Yrsa’s Yarn Shoppe, we went into a glass that sells the sturdy chocolate pies!!! As we neared the glass, we noticed quite a lot of commotion! The glass owner had set the chocolate pie making machine and it had gotten stuck! Chocolate pies were flying everywhere! I ducked as a cream-filled chocolate pie came flying right at me and it striped into Professor McGonegal’s sock just as she walked through the door! A lime chocolate pie did a nose dive and splattered all over the ceiling most elaborately! We made it out of the store just as a chocolate pie frog and a kettle of Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans collided in a rainstorm of goo!

This was lots of fun, and made for a funny (if odd) story!

Since we were still happy, we walked the 13 blocks over to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor! I decided on a cone with lemon ice cream and Waverly got the hot fudge sundae with extra caramel! Yummy! Professor McGonegal had made her way over here as well after the incident at the chocolate pie shoppe and had chosen a birch beer float.

After that, we passed Gringott’s and headed to Yrsa’s Yarn Shoppe! I tried not to look at the beautiful skeins of silk and bamboo and wool and instead, headed toward the needle cases while Waverly stopped to run the stitch markers. I found a purple needle case made out of steel and made my purchase. Waverly kept hedging between the needle case she came for and a pattern for a wash cloth. She chose the wash cloth pattern and we walked the back towards the train station just in time to make the 12:30 train.

After sitting down, we noticed Buttercup and Selena were on the train as well. Selena looked quite shiny to have the broom with them. Buttercup however did not look shiny at all. While waiting to go into the vault, a baby goblin waiting in line with his Mommy had played on Buttercup, getting pinot grigio all over their clean robes! The smell really was just horrendous! Apparently, Buttercup’s protecting spells don’t work well against pinot grigio!! We made our way to a less smelly compartment and talked about how we were going explain missing Professor Snape’s lecture on the valuable ways hippogriffs are working with the Department of Mysteries in solving unsolvable witches!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Wow, this round of questions is tough. Luckily for me, though, these brainy questions are right up this 'claw's alley!

I'll post the pictures separately.

1. This “Harry Potter” character’s first name comes from Roman mythology. The mythological character’s twin brother is named Romulus. What is the Harry Potter character last name?a. Blackb. Lupinc. Puceyd. Finnigan

2. Which “Harry Potter” character’s first name is the Roman equivalent of the Greed Goddess Athena?a. Evansb. Malfoyc. McGonagalld. Flitwick

3. In ‘Harry Potter’ World, this wizard has created the Philosopher’s Stone (called the Sorcerer Stone in the US). The historical figure from the 14th and 15th centuries was a scribe and a manuscript-seller who became famous as an alchemist. Who is this individual?Nicolas Flamel

4. What is the first name of a character whose last name is the name of a Bulgarian leader from early 9th century who doubled the country’s territory?a. Theodoreb. Cedricc. Viktord. Vincent

5. Which character’s name is the name of goddess in Indian mythology?a. Creeveyb. Patilc. Zabinid. Vane

6. “Where the Wild Things Are” tells the story of Max, a young boy sent to bed without his supper for his wild antics. Who created this winner of the Caldecott Medal?a. Maurice Sendakb. Chris Van Allsbergc. Ezra Jack Keatsd. John Steptoe

7. What was NOT one of the unexpected defense mechanisms that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook encountered in their attempt to rob Gringotts?a. The Flagrante Curseb. The Thieves’ Downfallc. Anti-summoning Enchantmentsd. The Geminio Curse

8. What was Snape aiming at when he cut off George’s ear?a. Another Death Eater’s backb. George’s wand handc. Another Death Eater’s wand handd. George’s face

9. How much older than James was Lily? (Referring to Harry’s parents, not children).a. James was olderb. 6 monthsc. 1 monthd. 2 months

10. Food is one of the five exceptions to what magical law?a. Grimp’s Law of Elemental Transfigurationb. Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfigurationc. Gamp’s Law of Fundamental Transfigurationd. Grimp’s Law of Fundamental Transfiguration

8- Where does Xeno Lovegood first say that Luna is when Ron, Hermione and Harry visit? Down at the stream, fishing for fresh water plimpies.

9- What wood is the wand from The Deathly Hallows supposed to be made out of? Elder

10- How did Harry, Hermione and Ron escape the vaults of Gringotts? On the back of a dragon

11- What is the name of the all-female Quidditch team that Ginny has a poster of in her room? Holyhead Harpies

12- Describe what the Undetectable Extension Charm is. A spell placed on an object that makes the inside bigger than the outside, like Hermione’s bag. I also believe one was cast on my Ford Focus, because I can pack more stuff in there than you’d ever believe. My car’s name is Hocus Focus because of this.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

This week's homework is to find as many words as possible using the letters in the word Ravenclaw. Each word had to have an R in it, although the bonus was to make a list of words that didn't have R in it. Of course, being a Ravenclaw, I did both parts. And being a crossword puzzle buff, this was lots of fun for me.